B. DOSITHEUS, MONK

From his life, by a fellow-disciple, in Bollandus,
p. 38, and from S. Dorotheus, Docum 1.

DOSITHEUS, a young man who had spent his first
years in a worldly manner, and in gross ignorance of the first
principles of Christianity, came to Jerusalem on the motive of
curiosity, to see a place he had heard frequent mention made of in
common discourse. Here he became so strongly affected by the sight of
a picture representing hell, and by the exposition given him of it by
an unknown person, that, on the spot, he forsook the world, and
entered into a monastery, where the abbot Seridon gave him the
monastic habit, and recommended him to the care of one of his monks,
named Dorotheus. This experienced director, sensible of the
difficulty of passing from one extreme to another, left his pupil at
first pretty much to his own liberty in point of eating, but was
particularly careful to instil into him the necessity of a perfect
renunciation of his own will in every thing, both great and little.
As he found his strength would permit, he daily diminished his
allowance, till the quantity of six pounds of bread became reduced to
eight ounces. St. Dorotheus proceeded with his pupil after much the
same manner in other monastic duties; and thus, by a constant and
unreserved denial of his own will, and a perfect submission to his
director, he surpassed in virtue the greatest fasters of the
monastery. All his actions seemed to have nothing of choice, nothing
of his own humor in any circumstance of them, the will of God alone
reigned in his heart. At the end of five years he was intrusted with
the care of the sick, an office he discharged with such an
incomparable vigilance, charity, and sweetness, as procured him a
high and universal esteem: the sick in particular were comforted and
relieved by the very sight of him. He fell into a spitting of blood
and a consumption, but continued to the last denying his own will,
and was extremely vigilant to prevent any of its suggestions taking
place in his heart; being quite the reverse of those persons
afflicted with sickness, who, on that account, think every thing
allowed them. Unable to do any thing but pray, he asked continually,
and followed, in all his devotions, the directions of his master; and
when he could not perform his long exercises of prayer, he declared
this with his ordinary simplicity to St. Dorotheus, who said to him:
“Be not uneasy, only have Jesus Christ always present in your
heart.” He begged of a holy old man, renowned in that monastery
for sanctity, to pray that God would soon take him to himself. The
other answered: “Have a little patience, God’s mercy is
near.” Soon after he said to him: “Depart in peace, and
appear in joy before the blessed Trinity, and pray for us.” The
same servant of God declared after his death, that he had surpassed
the rest in virtue, without the practice of any extraordinary
austerity Though he is honored with the epithet of saint, his name is
not placed either in the Roman or Greek calendars.